Translating culture-specific items from the perspective of relevance theory: the example of the house on Mango street
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Date
2018
Authors
Guo, Haiyun
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Abstract
The aim of the research is to analyse the Mandarin Chinese translation of
culture-specific items in the novel The House on Mango Street using Relevance
Theory as the basis of analysis. Specifically speaking, this report attempts to adapt
Relevance Theory to guide the analysis of the following main questions: 1) What are
the translation shifts in relation to the culture-specific items in the Chinese version of
The House on Mango Street?; 2) How did the translator deal with the translation of
these words? 3) What are the possible reasons for the shifts as well as strategies and
methods used by the translator?
The analysis is mainly based on Relevance Theory and the latter’s core concepts of
the inferential nature of any communication and the principle of relevance. The
translator’s strategies and methods are investigated and his possible considerations in
choosing specific approaches are identified. This research tries to illustrate whether
Relevance Theory in translation is able to explain how the translator chooses the
translation strategies based on a consideration of cultural differences.
From the analysis of the examples, it is concluded that, in general, the translator
shows considerable respect for the original text. He keeps close to the original text to
keep the important foreign cultural characteristics and adds footnotes for further
explanations that he considers necessary. At the same time, he is flexible in his choice
of specific translation methods, taking into account the various contexts of
communication.
The research concludes that as long as the methods used by the translator result in
optimal relevance for the target audience, the translation will be valuable in making a
contribution to translation practice. Moreover, because of the inferential nature of
Relevance Theory, if the target readers’ cognitive context is carefully assessed, there
is reasonable justification for the translator to introduce shifts which are identified
when the translation is compared with the original text
Description
A research report submitted to the
Faculty of Humanities,
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Translation
Johannesburg, 2018
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Citation
Guo, Haiyun (2018) Translating culture-specific items from the perspective of relevance theory:the example of the house on Mango Street, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <http://hdl.handle.net/10539/27194>